Typewriting machine



Sept. 22, 1931. H. L. PITMAN TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Feb. 11, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet l y fw Sept. 22, 1931. H. L. PITMAN TYPEWRITING MACHINEFiled Feb. 1l, 1926 3 SheetS-SheefI 2I Sept. 22, 1931. H. L. P1TMANTYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Feb. ll, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 LIN Patented lSept. 22, 1931 lUNITED s'm-'rlzs PATENT ori-lcs HENRY L. PI'rImN, orwEs'rrIELn, NEW Jansma AssIeNoR., BY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS,

'.lO ELLIOTT-FISHER COMPANY, O F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0FDELAWARE 'riz-.enwarrINe MACHINE I Application led February 11, 1926.'Serial No. 87,533.

This invention relates to tabulatingand carriage-return mechanisms fortypewriting machines of the Underwood type, where power-driven meansoperate to line-space the platen and return the platen-carriage to a newline-starting position and from 'which position tabulatingkeys andassociated means quickly reposition the carriage denominationally withindetermined column-fields.

One object of this invention is to provide means whereby an operativemay interrupt the powerdriven return movement of the carriage byoperating a tabulating key and cause the immediate positioning of thecarriage for writing inan intermediate place on the work-'sheet withoutfully returning the car-riage to the initial line-startingposition.

i This is of great advantage in cases where en- Y and a tabulatingmovement of the carriage carriage-feed rack from its pinion isalso usedtowardr the left immediately occurs, under the power of its lowndriving-'spring, andv is arrested when a column-stop on the carriagestrikes the decimal-stop raised in its path by the tabulating key. y

vBy means of suitable connections themovement of the usualuniversal barcoacting with thedecimal tabulating stops to disengage the.

to simultaneously disengage the carriage-return driving mechanism. fThis is'referabl accomplished by extending the sha on whic thetabulating` universal bar is mounted and fastening `ah arm thereon toreach and en\ gage the usual linkage by means oi which the ycarriage-return mechanism is engaged, but

which, according to the present invention,

may be also used to disengage the carriagereturn mechanism.

Another object of this invention 1ste pro- I vide means Vwhereby startinand stopping of the-motor may be controlle by means of the samecircuit-closing device or switch regularly provided for thecarriage-return mechanism. This device is actuated upon releasing atrain of spring-pressed linkage, by means of which the carriage-returnmechanism is engaged. f A bary pivoted to this linkage eX-' tends towardand interlocks with the circuitclosing device, so as to normally keep itopen. When the linkage is released to engagethe carriage-returnmechanism this bar is withdrawn, and the circuit-closing device whichincludesa spring-pressed arm is closed.

In the present invention, the switch-bar is connected to thecarriage-return linkage in such a way that it may be operatedindependently of said linkage,making it possible to disengag'e thecarriage-return mechanism without stopping the motor when a tabulatingkey is' operated, or,to operate the circuitclosing device independentlyof thecarriagereturn mechanism linkage, or to operate thecircuit-closing device in the usual way when the carriage-returnmechanism is engaged or disengaged. The actuating element for thecircuit-closing device or switch is preferably connected to thecarriage-return mechanism rlinkage by means of a pin and inclined slotdevice, which disengages the carriage-return mechanism when a tabulatingkey is operated.

The carriage-return mechanism is engaged by pressingthe usualcarriage-return key, or the engagement is eiiected ,automatically by theusual means associated with the left-hand marginal carriage stop.

Other featuresand advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the 'accompanying drawings, VFigure Il is a sectional elevation of anUnderwood-Hanson combined typewriting and computing machine, and showsonly such part of the typewriter mechanism and computing mechanism as isnece/ssaryato i1- lustrate the invention.y

Figure 2 is a detail view of the principal letter-feeding elements'.

Figure 3 is aview of the switch for start-- ing and stopping the motorwhich operates the carriage-return mechanism and other devices of thisinvention. Y,

Figure 4 is a skeleton perspective view of the tabulating mechanism andthe means by which the tappet-supporting member is withdrawn.

Figure 5-is a rear view of some ofthe parts shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the pin-and-slot connection forthe switchactuating element.

Figure 7 is a detail view showing the relation of the parts when atabulating key is operated and the tappet-supportingvmember is about tobe withdrawn.

Figure 8 is a detail view showing the tappet-supporting memberwithdrawn, and also showing the means by which it is latched in itswithdrawn position.

. Figure 9 is a detail view showing the operation of the flexibleconnection as it yields, if-the operating pin is projected against thearm that withdraws the tappet-supporting member.

Figure 10 is a detail view showing the relation of the parts when thecarriage-return mechanism` alone is engaged.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing-the electrical connections.

The Underwood typewriter to which this invention is applied, is providedwith a decimal tabulating mechanism, which includes keys 11 upon levers12 fulcrumed at 13. The rear ends 14 of said levers,` when operated,raise deci aal-stops 15, sothat the upper ends 15aL thereof are in thepath of column-stops 16 on the typewriter-carriage 17. The decimal-stopsand tabulating keys are retracted against a stop 17 a by springs 18applied to said decimal-stops. Each decimal-stop 15 has a notch 19'toengage a universal bar 20 mounted upon a shaft 21. Said 'universal'banwhen operated by any of the decimal-stops when atabulating key isdepressed, disengages a carriage-feed rack 22 from its pinion 23 bymeans which include an arm 24, a link. 25 *and a lever 26. Said lever ispivoted at 27 and connected to said link at 28 and carries a roll 29,which lifts 'the feed rack upward and holds it disengagedfrom its pinionduring the tabulati`n movement of the carriage. 1

umeral-keys 30 and alphabet-keys 31`by means of the usual key-levers,not shown, and

bell-cranks 32, partly shown, swinging type-y bars 33 upwardly andrearwardly about a fulcrum 34 to print against a platen 35 around whicha work-sheet, not shown,may

be fed. Heels 36 upon the type-bars actuf ate a universal bar 37connected to a dogrocker 38, which includes a xed dog 39 and a steppingdog=40. Said dogs co-operate with an escapeinent-wleel 41 to which iscon- Vnected the pinion 23. The carriage is propelled in aletter-feeding ortabulating direction by a spring-motor 42.

When the carriage moves in letter-spacing and reaches aline-end marginalcarriage-stop, not shown, a lugv 43 on the car- Ias to retain the end ofthe the head 75 and the shoulder 74; the stud 73 riage-return trip-link52 and lifts said trip? link, which is pulled rearwardly by a spring 53.SaidI trip-link is normally held by a plate 54 which engages a notch 52ain said link 52. The rear end of the link is pivotally connected to anarm 55 fast to a shaft 56. .As 'the carriage in its letter-feedingmovement or otherwise reaches the line-end marginal-stop, thecarriage-return trip-link 52 is released from its holding plate and itsmovement by the spring 53 causes the rotation of the shaft 56. Thecarriage-return trip-link may also be released by means of a4 manuallykoperated lever 55a pivoted on the typewriter-frame at 56a. Said leverwhen operated raises the forward end of the triplink 52 to release itfrom the plate 54 through the camming of a by-pass pawl 57 by the tip57a of said lever as it is operated. The lever 55fL is returned to itsnormal position against a stud 58a by a spring 59a and is ineffective torelease the link on account of said by-pass pawl. F astened to saidshaft 56 is another arm 58 which is connected by means of a link 59 toan arm 60 fastened to a shaft 61 upon which is fastened an arm 62, whichengages a slidable clutch-member 63. As the shaft 61 is rotat-- ed bymeans of the aforesaid connections through the movement of the link 52,the clutch-member 63 actuated thereby slides into engagement with aclutch-member 65 keyed to a shaft 66. Said shaft 66 has its bearing in abracket 67 attached to the typewriterframe 49 in the usual manner. Apulley 68 is keyed to said shaft 66, and by means of a belt 122 isconnected to a driving motor 70. Said driving motor 70 is controlled bya switch indicated at 71, Figures 3` and 11, actuated by a connectionfrom the link 52v to an arm 72, fastened to the shaft 56 to operate aswitch-bar 77. In the end of said arm 72 is a stud 73, which includes ashoulder 74 and a head 75, to be assembled through a cam-slot 76 in theend of the switch-bar 77, see Figure 6. After the camslot 76 has beenplaced over saidbhead 75, the stud 73 may be given a uarter turn, so arl77 between then being secured to the arm 72 by an suitable means, as bya lock-nut 73. Tie bar 77 is slidably supported upon an arm 78 andbetween pins 79 projecting from said arm. The pur ose of said arm 78will presently be descri ed. It will be seen that, as said shaft 56 isrotated, as when the clutch-` members 63 and 65 are engaged, Figure 10,the bar 77 will move longitudinally to close the switch contained withina'casing 77a. The bar 77v has slidablymounted thereon a member 69resilently connected by a spring 69a, and operative to cushion saidmember when engaging the switch to close it, so that after closing saidswitch the bar 77 may have an excess movement during Which the spring69a yields.

lVhen the typewriter is used with a computing mechanism, there ismounted on its carriage tappets 80 supported by rods 81 and 82, the rod81 serving as a fulcrum for the tappets 80, which are raised by theusual tappet-supporting member 83. Said tappetsupporting member 83 iscoextensive with a series of jacks 84 pivoted at 85 and engageable by aone-way pawl 87 mounted upon each tappet 80, and each tappet is upheldas it rides over the tappet-supporting member 83 by means of a roll 87 afastened to said tappet.

In this manner, the carriage, moving step by step through a computingzone, operates atr each step one of the jacks 84 and causes a downwardthrust of a rod88, to select in the usual manner one of the computingmachine pin-bars which are not shown. The computing mechanism is of thetype shown in the patent to O. Minton, No. 1,280,065, dated September24, 1918. The tappet-supporting member 83 is supported between varms 89fastened to a rock-shaft 90, which is pivoted` between brackets, notshown, upon the typewriter-frame 49. The usual spring-device 91,

described in the patent to W. L. Gumpretcht, No. 1,268,565, dated June4, 1918, operates to keep the tappet-'supporting member 83 in elfectiveposition to raise each tappet 80, so that it may engage the jacks 84.

When tabulating the carriage it is desirable to withdraw thetappet-supporting member 83, so that the pawl 87 on the tappet will notoperate the jacks 84 during the comparatively rapid movement ofthecarriageas it is tabulated. The withdrawal of the tappet-mem ber 83 is`eectiveagainst the reaction of the spring-device 91, an to avoidputting the burden of overcoming this reaction'upon the tabulating key,means are provided to withdraw the tappet-supporting member 83 byvpowerwvhen a tabulating key is operated. To

this end, Athere is mountedupon the rock shaft 90 an arm 92, which has acam-formation 93, see Figure 5. When a tabulating key is operated, thereis projected into the plane of this cam-formation 93a pin 94, said pin Ybeing projected through a hole 95 in the web of the pulley 68. This pinmay be mounted upon a disk 96 which slides upon a bearing 97 formed uponthe bracket 67. To slide the pin 94 forward and backward a groove 98r isformed in a hub of said disk 96, to .be engaged by a pair of arms 99mounted on a shaft tion where its projection would be obstructed by thearm 92, the spring 118 will yield until the pin has passed said armf.Said shaft 100 is pivotally supported in a hole 101 in the tab ulatorstop fraine and in a hole 102 in a lug 121 fastened to the bracket 67 Torotate said shaftlOO and roject the pin 94 into the plane of the cam-vormation 93 whenever a tabulatingpkey is operated, said shaft is furtherprovded with an arm 103 fastened thereto and connected by means of alink 104 to the link 25, which is used to disengage thecarriage-feedrack. lt will be remembered that this link 25,connectedtothe universal to drive the belt 122, to cause the pulley 68and pin 94 to revolve, to rock the shaft 90.

To start the motor, the depression of any tabulating key vibrates thearm 78 provided with the pin 79, carrying the. forward -slotted end ofthe bar 77,1 and, as the arm 72 and its stud 73 are at this timestationary, the bar 77 is shifted rearwardly, due to the inclination ofcam-slot 76, to close the switch 71, start the motor, rotate the pulley68 lcause the projected pin 94 as it revolves to displace the arm'92, torock the shaft 90, and effect the withdrawal of the tappet-supportingmember 83.

It will be seen that after the revolving pin 94 passes the cam-formation93, the tappetsupporting member 83 will return to its tapprojecting fromsaid latch. As the tappet supporting member 83 is withdrawn, the latchis` pulled rearwardly and the lug lfalls behind a holding edge 111 onthe arm 109.

It will be seen that when the tabulating key is released the arm 109will be Withdrawn from said lug 110, and the tappet-supporting memberresumes its normal position.

Heretofore, in an -automatic carriage return, there was no way ofstopping the carriage-return movement until the carriage had reached theright-hand marginal carriagestop and rotated a'shaft 112 by the usualllO means, which included a dog 113 keyed to p said shaft 112 andactuated by the lug 43.

As said shaft 112 is rotated it disengages the clutch-elements 63 and 65by means which include an arm 114, fastened to said shaft 112, a link115, a sliding member 116 and an arm 117 fastened to the shaft 61.Details of the means associated with the left and right hand marginalcarriage-stops to engage and disengage the carriage-return mechanism,are set forth in the patent to R. F. Hoyt, No. 1,238,919, datedSeptember 4, 1917.

Previously, whenever it was desired to make an entry in an intermediatecolumn on,

the work-sheet or a correction in a computing zone, it was necessary toalways return the carriage to its line-starting position as determinedby the right-hand marginal carriage-stop, and vthen to tabulate anew tothe place where the entry was to. be made. I several columns intervenedbetween the starting point and the .place the entry was to be made, suchcolumns could only be -skipped by successive operations of thetabulating keys. To avoid this, means are provided so that, as soon asthe carriage has returned and the column in which it is desired to makethe next entry is past the printing point, the return movement of thecarriage may be stopped by pressing the proper denominational tabulatingkey. The carriage as soon as its return movement is stopped for lack ofdriving power will be immediately tabulated under the power of its owndrum to the denominational column position according to the keydepressed, and said key is held depressed until the carriage is thustabulated. To accomplish this the previously-mentioned arm 78 has acamming edge 123 co-operative with the surface 124 of the stud 7 3, andeiiective whenever a tabulating key is depressed to cam the 'arm 72aside, thereby causing the restoration of the linkage 58-62 which haseffected the engagement of the carriage-return clutch-members 63 and 65.The circuit to the motor, however, is not broken as long as thetabulating key is depressed, so that the tappet-support83 is withdrawnin the manner described, and the bar 77 held in its circuit-closingposition until the tabulating key is released.

It will be noted that the depression of the y carriage-return key startsthe motor 70 .and

closes a clutch 63-65, whereby the motor will'drive the carriage in acarriage-return direction to a marginal-stop position, which determinesthe line-starting position for the carriage automatically andindependently of the carriage-return key and disables the motor-clutchto arrest the carriage; that the carriage-springis always effective todrive the carriage in letter-spacing or columnspacing direction when atabulating key is depressed; that the carriage-return motor overcomesthe opposition of the'carriagespring in returning the carriage; that,when the tabulating key is depressed after a carriage-return movement isinitiated, the carriage is disconnected fromthe rotating return motorand is brought to a stop from lack of motor-drivingpower, the carriageresponding to the tension of its own spring until the carriage-stopstrikes the tabulatorstop raised in its pat by the depression of thetabulating key; that the depression of any denominational tabulating keyvibrates a universal bar having camming connections that eect theseparation of the carriagefeed rack from its feeding and holding pmionto release the carria e to its driving spring, and restores the{ey-released triplink 52 to its normal position, but does not withdrawthe switch-bar 77 to break the circuit to the return motor, whichcontinues to rotate to prevent the accidental restoration of thetappet-roller 83 until the carriage has fully advanced to the tabulatingposltion within a column-area; that, when the tabulating advance of thecarriage is completed and the tabulating key is released, therestoration of the parts from the Figure 8 positions to the positions ofFigures 7 and 9 1s effected by the return of the universal bar 20 wherethe lifting of the-link 25 rocks the shaft 100 to withdraw the pin 94,vibrates the arm 109 to release the latch 105 to restore the roller 83to lift the tappet 80, and'vibrates a jack 84 corresponding to-thedeclmalvalue of the key depressed; that the restoration of the universalbar also vibrates the arm 78 t0 eiect the withdrawal of the switch-bar77 to open the switch 71 and stop the motor 70; that an operatorcan,readilyl;fand expertly manipulate the tabulating keys to cut intothe carriage-returning movement very close to the right-hand margin of acolumn-area or even between adjoining column-fields, and thenimmediately arrest the carriage at a denominational positiontherein,thus avoiding the uselessI operation o'f fully restoring the carriagerightward and then advancing the carriage, column by column,` asheretofore practiced, except where complicated columngskipping mechanismis emplo ed which does not tabulate denominationa ly; and that anoperator can limit the returning movement of the carriage to acolumn-width, if desired, and tabulate directly to the denominationalpositiontherein, thus providing an important time and labor saving modeof operation and giving the operator a complete carriage-directioncontrol without removing the hands from the keyboard. Variations may bereorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of theimprovements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claimt 1. In a typewritin machine,the combination with av springriven carriage, a tabuf lating mechanismincluding tabulating keys operable to arrest the spring-driven carnageat column-positions, and a carriage-returning mechanism including amotor and a clutch Aboth rendered operable, by the depression of a key,to veffect a carriage-return to a line-starting position determined by amargin-stop, of means actuated by the depression of any tabulating keyand operatively connected to open the clutch to the rotatingmotor andeffect the arrest of the returning carriagevin advance of saidmargin-stop position and restore the driving control of the carriage toits spring to advance the carriage toa tabular position determined bythe tabulating key, said means including a universal bar vibrated by thetabulating keys and having connections operative to open the clutchpreviously closed by the carriage-return key,

said universall bar connections including a cam-face operable to preventthe restoration of the switch-bar, previously set by the carriage-returnkey to start the motor, until the universal bar is restored by thereleased tabulating key.

2. In a tabulator-mechanism for a typewriting machine, the combinationwith a traveling carriage, an electric motor having a normally opencircuit and a normally open carriage-clutch, a carriage-return mechanismoperative to close the motor-circuit and close the clutch between thecarriage and motor,

and a tabulator, of means whereby an operation of said tabulator willbreak the clutch to release the carriage, without breaking themotor-circuit until the tabulator is released.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a spring-drivenletter-feeding and carriage-holding mechanism, means including taulator-keys operatively connected for releasing and tabulating thecarriage in a predetermined column, and key-controlled carriage-returnmechanism, whereby said carriage is power driven for a full line lengthreturn movement and the power-driving means is silenced, ofmechanismoperable by any tabulator-key, whereby the full powerdrivenreturning movement of said carriage is disabled without disabling thedriving power untilthe action ofthe carriage-feeding spring` hastabulated `the carriage andl the tabulator-key is released.

HENRY L. PITMAN.

